The Ukie Student Game Jam is an exciting challenge that invites our student members to develop an original video game in just 32 hours. This year, in collaboration with Playground Games, we chose the theme of ‘contrast’. Each team, made up of up to six students, was paired with an industry mentor to offer guidance and support throughout the event. With over 200 students across 56 teams taking part, we were thrilled to receive 52 impressive submissions! Explore and play all the entries on itch.io.
We’re excited to share the winners of the Ukie Student Game Jam 2025
WINNER: Scryer’s Shadow by Two Ferrets in a Trench Coat
TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT: Bartholomew.exe by Time2Coup
OUTSTANDING DESIGN: oppo-type by Debris Re:Entry
Read on more to find out more about these fantastic games.
WINNER: Scryer’s Shadow
Team: Two Ferrets in a Trench Coat
Students: Morgan and Jonathan from University of Staffordshire
Mentor: Tom Kewell from Lucid Games
You shouldn't have strayed so far from your village! You have awoken a great evil. In this challenging, shadowy platformer, you must escape...
What the judges thought:
The striking use of light and dark in Scryer’s Shadow makes ‘contrast’ a core visual design element and a core game mechanic. The ever-watchful Sauron-like eye is impressively dynamic, responsive to the player, and creates an immersive tense atmosphere. Anticipating the moving shadows creates fun, challenging and unique platforming. The game is highly polished, with a level select menu and a tutorial. The gameplay is intuitive and smooth, with responsive controls. Eight superbly designed levels are enhanced by exceptional visuals and sound. Scryer’s Shadow is an accomplished game jam entry that evokes stylish platformers like LIMBO, SCHiM and Celeste.
Can you stay out of sight and return to your village? Play Scryer’s Shadow here.
TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT: Bartholomew.exe
Team: Time2Coup
Students: Ollie, Nikolay, Teo, Gabriel and Daniel from University of Staffordshire
Mentor: Otavio Neves from Playground Games
A maze thriller where reality shifts between terror and control. In the Nightmare State, you are powerless - lost in the dark, hunted by a monstrous presence. But in the Dream State, the roles reverse - wield newfound strength and turn the hunt against your pursuer.
What the judges thought:
Bartholomew.exe is a well-executed and horrifying game that incorporates ‘contrast’ visually through a day/night cycle, and mechanically through an escape/attack gameplay loop. Its well-designed maze is both fun to explore and scary to get lost in, without resorting to making you ‘hard stuck’. Retro-style audio and visuals present a clear aesthetic, and dial up the eerie atmosphere and contrasting cycles. This makes for some intense chase sequences, evoking Silent Hill. Smart features, such as a shop, and the amusing risk of getting caught in your own trap, impressed the judges. One of them even played for over an hour!
Can you outrun the monster? Play Bartholomew.exe here.
OUTSTANDING DESIGN: oppo-type
Team: Debris Re:Entry
Students: Charlie and Andy from Norwich University of the Arts
Mentor: Ben Arundel from Jagex
Fire projectiles at alien invaders by typing the antonym of the words on their ships in this retro, arcade-style ‘type 'em up’.
What the judges thought:
oppo-type is a unique and perfectly executed take on ‘contrast’. This creative spin on the classic Space Invaders is fun and satisfying to play, featuring a slick and responsive typing experience. It stands out for its clear direction of gameplay, and flawless loop. A professional level of polish and impressive features, including browser play, leaderboard and menu, makes it a complete game jam entry. The delightful modern-retro visuals, enhanced by stylish VFX and a complete sound package, add to its charm. Showing strong potential for future development, oppo-type could be easily expanded and even have application as an educational game.
Can you type to the top score of 1000? Play oppo-type here.
Ukie Student Game Jam showcase at the Barclays Games Frenzy
Thursday 12 June, 15:30-20:00, Barclays HQ in Canary Wharf, London Our three award-winning teams will be showcasing their game entries amongst industry at the annual Barclays Games Frenzy. Join us to meet the students, play the games, and support future game dev talent!
Congratulations to all our participating students!
Judging the Ukie Student Game Jam 2025 was a pleasure, though not without its challenges. The creativity and talent on display were truly outstanding. The judges and Ukie team had a fantastic time exploring the diverse range of submitted games. Considering the students had just 32 hours to develop their projects, the results were incredibly impressive. We highly recommend checking out their amazing entries!
We also want to extend a huge thank you to our Game Jam mentors who volunteered their time to guide and support the participating students. Their insight was invaluable and made this a rich learning experience for these aspiring developers.
With thanks to our panel of judges
Our award-winning games were considered and selected by our panel of judges from the Ukie team and our generous industry partners.
Vince Finlayson, Associate Chief Engineer, Playground Games
Nigel Norman, Senior Level Designer, Playground Games
Juan Martinez, Lead Technical Game Designer, Discord
James Butcher, Education Development Manager, Epic Games
Siân Mayhall-Purvis, Senior Education Programme Officer, Ukie
Yiren Ye, Events Officer, Ukie
The Ukie Student Game Jam 2025 is proud to be in partnership with Playground Games, Scan Computers, Barclays, Discord and Epic Games.